Forum Topic

>I also wonder why Muslim countries refuse to take Palestinian refugees, funny that innit?    😉Why oh why oh why do you write such utter b****t?Today, the largest number of refugees, over 2,000,000, live in Jordan, where by 2009 over 90% of UNWRA-registered Palestinian refugees had acquired full citizenship rights. This figure consists almost exclusively of West Bank–descended Palestinians;[a] however, as of December 2021, Palestinians with roots in the Gaza Strip are also still kept in legal limbo. In 2021, Jordanian politician Jawad Anani estimated that roughly 50% of Jordan's population had West Bank–Palestinian roots.[b][8][9][10][11] Another approximately 2,000,000 refugees live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, under Israeli occupation and blockade. Approximately 500,000 refugees live in each of Syria and Lebanon respectively, albeit under very different circumstances. While Palestinian refugees in Syria maintained their stateless status, the Syrian government during Assad's rule afforded them the same economic and social rights enjoyed by Syrian citizens;[12] they were also drafted into the Armed Forces despite not being citizens.[13][14] Citizenship or legal residency in some host countries is denied, most notably for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, where the absorption of Palestinians would upset a delicate confessional balance. For the refugees themselves, these situations mean they have reduced rights: no right to vote, limited property rights and access to social services, among other things.

Paul James ● 5d

Failures of the current incumbents have already been listed and these are just the tips of the iceberg.One or two will have noticed my own personal grievances and passions but if I had to cite one example of why this cesspool need hoofing out it would be the debacle at Leeland Terrace with the collapse of Henry Construction and the alleged misappropriation of £millions of OUR money. On the face of it, this matter is at best negligent and at worse criminal in respect of the money and allowing shoddy construction to get as far as it did and then leaving the site to rot away.The only local councillor I ever had any time for was David Millican.Sadly his central party let him down as did those of us who voted for them. I witnessed a stand up row in Lammas Park last year between an impassioned local and Cllr Paul Dismall. The mantra back from Dismall shocked me - he basically said he’d been elected with a record share of the vote and he’d be in power for as long as he wanted to be. That was a real eye opener for me and if nothing Elers proves why you need to keep these people you elect to account and on their toes.My vote will be for another party - one of the “swivel eyed loons” (handy hint - not the Greens!!!) but that is more from a place of they can’t be any worse, might have fresh energy and (admittedlyh a slight slant on national issues.Sadly I’d say it’ll be the same old same old due to demographics and mobilisation of certain sectors of the vote as has been witnessed oop North recently. However, you never know and I’d encourage everyone to use their vote as this is a cornerstone of our democracy

Colin Goodman ● 10d

Rosco, you may consider your neighbours idiots but, on the evidence of your posts here, ending your MENSA subscription isn't going to a cost cutting measure you would ever have the option of taking. Your contributions amount to 'Labour bad' but I have never actually read anything from you that reaches the level of cogent criticism.As a lifelong Labour voter, I can recognise that this administration has its flaws principle of which is an overreliance of fine and charge revenue (which is essentially regressive taxation) to balance its books. However, they are in power in what is an extremely difficult time for local authorities due to cost pressures from things like SEND and they have had some successes e.g. Warren Farm.I am not so partisan that I would never consider voting for another party and I know that the most important thing about a councillor is not their political beliefs but their work ethic. When I lived in different ward I gave one of my votes to a Lib Dem councillor because I was aware of the time and effort he put into the role.You may consider me 'the idiot vote' but nevertheless you need to articulate why I should consider alternatives. The Lib Dems ultimately don't seem to have much to distinguish themselves policy wise from Labour and while they have a small number of excellent councillors, it is debatable that they would be able to form an administration with sufficient breadth of talent. The Greens seem to have made precious little impact in the borough. The Conservatives seem to be riven by internal division. A friend of mine who is a party member says that good councillors were sidelined by a faction who just saw being on the council as a stepping stone to being an MP. The party didn't pull up any trees when it did get control of the borough and look at the mess that it has made of Hillingdon.As for Reform, they also don't seem to have much a presence in the borough yet and seem everywhere to struggle to find candidates who aren't swivel-eyed loons with a social media history that would make Lucy Connolly blush. Even if we did, their disasterous record at all the councils they have won control of serves as a warning.You may therefore consider that it is not a matter of your neighbours being idiots but that they rationally choose an option that is the least worse of those available.

Mark Evans ● 11d